USADF Signs Two Grants with Community Groups in Burundi:

WASHINGTON - June 8, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 8, 2009 – In an effort to work with under-served groups to alleviate poverty, the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) recently awarded two grants to organizations in Burundi.  The grants will benefit the Association Villageoise pour le Développement Local (AVIDEL) and Fruitropic s.a.

After the grant was signed, USADF Chairman Dr. John O. Agwunobi stated “USADF’s work is grounded in funding projects at the grassroots level to support African development.  With USADF funds, these projects, designed by AVIDEL and Fruitropic, will support and sustain members of the community.”

AVIDEL is an umbrella NGO that provides technical and financial assistance to community-based organizations operating in the communes of Matana, Songa, Buyengero, and Burambi in the provinces of Gitega and Bururi.  Comprised of nearly 600 members, of whom 450 are women, AVIDEL assists under-served individuals organize into cooperative associations, identify solutions to development problems, and organize technical trainings.  The two year, $75,000 USADF grant will allow AVIDEL to assist farmers’ associations in increasing agricultural yields thereby generating increased incomes for the indiviudal farmers and improving household food security.  AVIDEL will do this by using USADF funds to provide inputs to farmers to improve soil productivity, supply vegetable seedlings and seed potatoes to 17 associations, and provide key agricultural and management trainings and techincal assistance.

Fruitropic, founded in 2006, is a small artisanal-style business located in Bujumbura that employs more than twenty people at its production facility.  Working through intermediary suppliers, Fruitropic purchases passion fruit, pineapples and strawberries from approximately 400 farmers and produces juices, concentrates and jams for local markets.  The demand for Fruitropic products has increased significantly since 2006 and demand continues to outstrip the amount the company can produce.  The eighteen month, $70,000 USADF grant will increase Fruitropic’s production capacity thus increasing individual farmers’ incomes and will improve the quality of Fruitropic’s products by providing high-quality production inputs, procuring expert agricultural assistance for Fruitropic’s client farmers, and developing an improved supply chain.  In addition, USADF funds will be used to strengthen and formalize the company’s food safety, marketing, human resources, and financial management systems. 

USADF re-established programming in Burundi in 2008.  Burundi’s current portfolio stands at seven investment projects totaling nearly $1.2 million dollars.  For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country’s quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADFQuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Burundi.htm.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa.  Currently USADF operates in 20 African nations.  Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded nearly 1,500 projects representing in excess of $150 million in support of African enterprises and local African communities.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

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